20th Anniversary Show: This is Us

On View Feb. 24th - Mar. 22nd | Opening Reception Friday, Feb. 27th, 6-9pm

Artist Talk: March 7th at 4pm

The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts celebrates its twentieth anniversary year with a show of member artwork titled “This Is Us” opening on February 24th and running through March 22nd with an opening reception on February 27th and an Artist Talk on March 7th. The show will include reflections on what being part of an artist-owned gallery has meant for each member and how it has shaped their work.

In 2006 a group of 15 artists put their nickels and dimes together and started an art gallery in Hillsborough, NC. “Most of us didn’t know each other but we all needed a place to show and sell our work. There was a space we could sublet behind a gift shop on Churton Street,” said Chris Graebner, one of the founding members. “The owner of the gift shop was willing to handle our sales for the first few months while we figured things out. None of us had any experience running a business, let alone an art gallery, but we did some research and created a structure that has worked well for us over the years.” Over time, the gallery has expanded to twenty-one members and more than doubled its square footage. Artists have come and gone but 5 of the original 15 remain. “We are all equal partners in the business, and we all work shifts to keep the gallery open, in addition to doing all the work it takes to run any business,” says Graebner. “Artists generally work alone in their studios, so we enjoy the chance to be with each other.”

As painter Ellie Reinhold describes her feelings in the beginning, “In 2006 I remember thinking to myself, well if this doesn’t pan out I just threw away $1200. I’d made a commitment to stay a year and contribute monthly dues of $100. Our vision was a cooperatively run retail gallery with 15 local artists who were all equal owners. I was willing to take the gamble, but had no idea what would come of it. Hillsborough Gallery of Arts has had over 60 artist member/owners. 15,000 visitors crossed our threshold in 2025 and we’ve sold nearly four million dollars’ worth of local art since our inception. I’ve found inspiration and solace, friendship and professional growth in this organization. In other words, I stumbled on this visual artist’s version of heaven.

Painter Marcy Lansman has been a member of HGA fifteen years and what she appreciates most is how much freedom individual members have to decide what they will show. Artists are accepted in a particular medium, but within that medium, are allowed to grow and change in whatever direction their inspiration takes them. “No gallery owner decides that only a certain kind of work is acceptable. We are the owners, and for the most part we each decide what kind of work we will do.”

Potter Garry Childs joined HGA in the summer of 2008. “At that time I was traveling quite a bit, going to 20 or more different art fairs and craft shows every year to sell my work. My reasons for joining were very simple. I wanted to spend less time on the road and to promote people coming to my studio. To be able to choose the work that I want to present and display it in the manner I think best, is very important to me. The opportunities the gallery has given me to work with the other HGA artists for the betterment of us all has broadened my perspective.”

“When I first joined the gallery a line in the contract stood out to me,” says jeweler Nell Chandler. “It was a commitment to have a Featured Artist Show with all new work once a year. I was intrigued with the clause about new work. I took it to mean growth. Through our gallery and my commitment to our mission, I have learned many new techniques in jewelry. Besides the wonderful and talented people I get to be around, I love how the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts has forced me to grow.

When potter Evelyn Ward decided not to rebuild her worn out salt kiln and to work with monoprinting on clay instead, it meant changing clay, glazes, firing method – basically everything. “This new direction was very scary for me since I had been salt or soda firing for about 15 years. If I hadn’t had HGA as a home gallery when I was trying to make this decision, I might have been too intimidated to take that leap. However, I was able to put the new work in front of customers and get immediate feedback on the pots. Being a part of HGA has been invaluable to me allowing me the freedom to evolve as an artist.”

Painter Nancy Smith attributes HGA’s success to the many contributions made by the 60 artists that have been members over the past 20 years. “I like to think of the founding members as those newly rooted plants whose ideas grew our organization into what it is today. Their influence gave substance and structure as new members came and grew new stems and blossomed.” 

“From our first meetings in July and August of 2006 I felt as if I had found a new second home,” says Pat Merriman, in whose living room those organizational meetings took place. “With all the years it still feels like a second home; our newer members have brought energy, creative ideas and we continue to flourish.”

About the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts:

The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is owned and operated by 21 local artists and represents these established artists exhibiting contemporary fine art and fine craft. The gallery’s offerings include watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings, photography, metal and figurative sculpture, ceramics, photography, scratchboard, jewelry, glass arts, metals, encaustic, enamel, turned wood, and handcrafted furniture.